This year is the 25th anniversary of The Matrix, and if you need me to explain the significance of that film, I feel like that reflects more on you than it does on me. Directed by the Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving and Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix combined mind-bending philosophical concepts with a slick leather-clad sci-fi aesthetic and the action of Hong Kong martial arts movies.
It was also filmed in Sydney, as a way to save money and lower the budget, as the project was seen as somewhat of a risk by Warners Bros.
As a huge fan of The Matrix and a Sydney native, I thought it’d be fun to try and find as many filming locations as possible throughout the city. As it turns out, most of these were around Surry Hills and Martin Place. While I couldn’t find every location – most of the film’s internal sets were shot in Fox Studios (now Disney Studios) – I’d say I got pretty close.
Looking at the glimpses of Sydney presented in The Matrix, it’s fun comparing how the city was captured in the film versus the one we’re living in now. It was shot in Sydney throughout 1998, just before the city was renovated in the lead-up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. We still had the monorail back then (which, fun fact, was a set piece in 1995’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, but that’s a different article for another day).
In the making-of documentary The Matrix Revisited, the crew mentions that they purposefully avoided Sydney landmarks like the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, to make the city less identifiable. In some instances, they just slapped non-existent buildings into the shot to cover up those icons, giving the city an uncanny look. If you’re familiar with Sydney, parts of the skyline are still recognisable, but it’s not quite right.
So, take the red pill and follow me down the rabbit hole as I visit almost every filming location for The Matrix in Sydney.
Heart O’ The City Hotel – Foster Street, Surry Hills
If they made The Matrix in 2024, Cypher probably would’ve betrayed the Nebuchadnezzar crew while eating at Nomad.
Trinity’s phone booth escape – Hickson Road underpass, The Rocks
Barangaroo Station, coming 2024.
Neo meets Trinity – The Hellfire Club, Sydney
I always thought this was a set, but it turns out it was shot in The Hellfire Club, a former BDSM party night. Most of the extras in this scene were regular patrons of the club, who were asked to rock up and do their usual thing.
MetaCortex (Neo’s work) – 60 Margaret Street, Sydney CBD
“MetaCortex” sounds like a crypto scam being pushed by the worst wannabe VCs. Or something to do with using the brain juice from farm animals to reverse the aging process.
‘Get in’ – Campbell Street underpass, Haymarket
Do you think Neo ever had a slap on the brickie’s laptop at the Surry Hills Hotel? (Pictured: background, images three and four)
‘Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?’ – Lloyd Rees Fountain, Martin Place
AKA, the most recognisable Sydney landmark in The Matrix.
However, in the first part of this scene, we see Morpheus and Neo cross Pitt St, walking away from Martin Place. Yet, as the scene progresses they somehow end up at the Lloyd Rees Fountain, which is in the opposite direction. Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
Cypher’s betrayal – Forty One in Chifley Tower, Sydney CBD
Forty One was an actual restaurant, but it closed back in 2010. All we have to remember of it now is this scene where Joey Pants goes to town on a steak.
‘Woah, deja vu’ – The Fullerton Hotel, Sydney CBD
Formerly the Westin Hotel, it’s been given a renovation to become the Fullerton. The staircase is still intact, just with a new lick of paint.
Bullet time rooftop – 207 Kent Street, Sydney CBD (Maritime Trade Towers)
The location for the film’s most iconic moment. Check out the cameo of the UTS tower in the background on the righthand side.
In the behind-the-scenes aerial shot, note the Western Distributor is visible in the background.
The military-controlled building – Colonial State Bank Centre, Martin Place
Honestly, just one of the coolest-looking buildings in all of Sydney.
Helicopter crash – 1 Market Street, Sydney CBD
While The Matrix’s most memorable special effects will always be its bullet time sequences, I want to give a quick shout-out to the moment when the stolen helicopter crashes into 1 Market Street. The way the glass around the impact ripples out before exploding, as though the chopper was a stone hurled into a pond, is just such a cool touch. In the screencap of the helicopter crashing, you can see the Sussex Street walkway in the top left-hand corner.
Subway fight – Glebe Island Silos, Rozelle
Neo’s showdown with Agent Smith was filmed on an old railway track located at the Glebe Island Silos.
Neo steals a phone – Corner of Wentworth Ave, Goulburn St and Commonwealth St, Surry Hills
Man, don’t you hate it when someone steals your phone and then a computer program forcibly takes control of your body?
Neo escapes into an alley – Corner of Hands Lane and Foster Street + Foster Lane, Surry Hills
In the previous shot, we see Neo legging it up Commonwealth Street, but in the next scene, he emerges from Hands Lane multiple blocks away. Are we to believe he can run that fast, even though he hasn’t become The One yet? Boy, I hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
The final shot – Corner of Pitt Street and Hunter Street, Sydney CBD
Neo was right, he did show us a world without “you” – except the “you” was that Dymocks Bookshop in the background.
Bonus: Museum Station, Sydney CBD
I wanted to keep this article focused solely on filming locations that appear in The Matrix, but I’d be remiss to leave out the Trainman jumping the Museum station gates in The Matrix Revolutions. No Opal cards or transits in sight; the dream.
Image: Warner Bros./iStock